Author's
note...this article was written years ago, and I leave it here to see how
it ages. Some aspects of it are dated, such as search engine submissions,
but other aspects are as relevant today as they were a decade ago.

The below 10 questions should be asked of
any Web promotion/submission service before hiring them.

1. Do they use automated submission services
to do their work?

Some companies, especially those who make
silly offers like "submit your site to 500 search engines for $19.95",
are executing those submissions via automated scripts. This is extremely
dangerous, and most search engines and directories dread them. Auto-submission
services are dangerous, and all are NOT created equal. The company you
are contracting with should disclose to you exactly how any submissions
will be made. I've seen many auto submission services fail terribly in
making listings. It is always preferred that you use the actual submission
form from the site you are submitting to, not someone elses. It takes longer,
and yes, it's a pain in the ass, but it is worth it. Some search engines
and directories even deny submissions made from auto submission services.
I currently get new clients every month who used one of these auto-bots
first, and now pay me to re-submit their listings. If you truly need to
use one of these services, please contact me and I will recommend a couple
of the best ones to you, free of charge.

2. Will you receive proof that the submissions
were made, and a print-out for every single site used?

I don't mean a one-page laundry list of all
sites, but the actual confirmation print out that nearly every submission
outlet offers.

If you do not
get a copy of every post sent or confirmation screen print-out, ask for
them.

This helps prove that the sites were used
one at a time, the right way. If you do not get a copy of every post sent
or confirmation screen print-out, you should ask why

3. Will they provide you with references
names and phone numbers?

This is so simple, yet it's overlooked. If
a company claims that they can help you with building awareness of your
site, then ask them to prove it. I'll gladly give you client's sites and
email contacts in three countries.

4. Are follow-up services available to
verify your URL made it in, and re-submission after 30 days for slow or
lagging indexes?

We know how slow the engines are to respond
to new submissions. Sometimes it seems like they let them slip through
the cracks. Why should you have to pay twice for something that should
have made it in the first time? Here is what you should get: After 30 days,
at least one re-submission to any search that does not have the URL added
yet. If they don't offer such a gaurentee, they need to at least offer
you a list of the submission outlets so that you can pursue it on your
own.

5. Do they locate, keep up with, and maintain
ongoing editor and publisher relations with the Internet media folks?

If the company offers to send news releases
to editors on your behalf, ask them what their relationship is with the
folks they are contacting, how they select them, and whether or not they
have perm ission from the people they are sending to. Do they even know
their names? Try this test on them. Ask them to name any 2 Yahoo Pick Of
The Week Editors by name.

6. Never use a service that sends Email
by Bcc'ing (blind carbon) to a list of names. Ask them if they do.

Blind carbons are the equivalent of an unsolicited
phone call to your house to sell you something. They irritate. Have you
ever received one? If so, you probably didn't like it much, especially
if you didn't ask for it.

Next, you probably did what most people do:
hit the "delete" key. The exact opposite of what you want your PR to do.
I send each and every email one at a time, to a specific person, by name.
Yes, it is slower. It also works for my clients, which is the best reward.
I have sent thousands of press releases to thousands of editors, and have
yet to be asked to stop. Why? Because I do it right. I now get email from
editors, writers, and contributors telling when they're getting new email
addresses, so I can keep sending them my client's electronic press releases.

7. More is absolutely NOT better. Ask them
how they select the submission sites for your site.

Some services will re-send your info to hundreds
upon hundreds of directories or other contacts, bragging about the free
link they got you. Baloney. I've seen the lists of sites, visited them,
and I ask you: What good is being on a bunch of obscure hot lists that
get 3 hits a day each? This is nothing but a way of trying to impress you
with big numbers of sites submitted to as opposed to what really matters--the
quality, interests, traffic and intent of the users visiting the sites
where your submissions were made. Also, just because a directory offers
a free link to any business does not mean it will be in the best interests
of your company to be in that directory. There are even fake directories
who are only after an email addrss to sell to someone. Not every link is
a good link...Quality beats quantity in the long run.

8. Do they look beyond the basics?

If all that someone does is stick your URL
in all the major general directories they know of, they have insulted you
and your site. What about other venues like Blogs, RSS feeds, site reviewers
at venues like Yahoo Picks or USA Today Hot Sites. Yes, this takes some
time to research, but it's worth it.

9. Do they give you specific outcome objectives,
or are they charging by the hour or by some other method?

At least two companies have services that
will bill you based on the number of hours they spend each month engaged
in "link-seeking" activities for your site. Hmmm... Now, I can't speak
to whether or not such practices will or wont work, but here's a question:
Isn't billing by the hour an invitation for abuse? A way to avoid quantifying
performance? If you choose this method, agree to some set of performance
goals FIRST, and if you can, get a track record.

10. Do they work with every site on the
planet, or carefully select who they work with?

Depending on the situation, trying to increase
awareness of two or more similar (and possibly competing) companies is
unethical and self-serving, and not in the best interests of the client
nor their site.